Strange Times
by sparkle123tt
Summary: Lienna hugged her book tightly to her chest as she stood in the entrance to the Kamar-taj library. Her gaze focused on Wong's back as he set about organizing books on shelves. "You alright, kid?" Stephen Strange paused in his walk to address the youngest girl in Kamar-Taj noting her staring, as he followed her line of sight. Lienna spoke up "Beyoncè's, my dad."
1. Chapter 1

It was Monday. The all time worst day of the week, the most hated day in existence world wide, beyond dimensions, hell even throughout the universe and across the multiverse. It was a day dreaded by all to say the least. So, naturally, it should have been common knowledge that today was going to be the worst day in the history of ever.

Unfortunately, Lienna Chang hadn't gotten the memo. The teen was as happy as could be as she walked home to eat during her two hour lunch break. She adjusted her pink face mask which covered her nose and mouth as she itched behind her ear. The smog that constantly blanketed the city made it hard to breathe, but that was nothing new for the china native.

She stopped at a cross walk and hit the metal circle on the nearby street lamp pole. As she waited for the walk sign she pulled out her pink iPod nano. Her mother had gotten it for her on her seventh birthday, all the way back in the ancient times of 2007. Fast forwards nine years later and it still worked like a charm despite it being seen as obsolete. Her thumb glided across the white circular dial as she scrolled through songs finally landing on one that she was in the mood for today.

_Halo_ by the American singer Beyoncé blasted through her headphones as soon as she clicked the center circle. The song was in English, the translated version having been banned by the government before she had gotten the chance to download it, but Lienna didn't mind all that much. She was trying to learn the foreign language as best she could and music was a great way to do that.

The green walking man appeared in its little box and she resumed her journey pocketing her iPod once again. She adjusted her knapsack which was filled to the brim with all her schooling supplies. The zipper strained to remain closed and threatened to rip right at the seam if Lienna wasn't careful. The bag jumped up and down on her back as Lienna climbed the stairs that led to her and her mothers apartment the steps creaking underneath her feet.

"Mama! Wô Zàijiā!" Lienna called as she stepped through the rickety door that threatened to fall off its hinges at any moment.

"Ah, Ah, English only!" Her mother called back at her from where she stood in their crampt kitchen in front of the stove. "You need your practice."

"Mama, I'm home!" She repeated this time speaking in English. Slipping off her pink flats next to the welcome mat, she shut the door behind her. She took off her face mask sniffing the air as smells of dumplings wafted in from the kitchen, Lienna grinned, already imagining how good it was going to taste.

"How was your exam?" Her mother asked as her daughter set her book bag down on the floor with a thud. Yells of anger followed soon after along with loud banging that rattled the floorboards unsettling dust that gathered there.

"Gomen, Mr. Xiao!" Lienna yelled apologizing to their landlord on the first floor. She had no doubt ruined his daily alcohol induced nap yet again. Her mother rolled her eyes and pulled the cheap white ear bud out of her daughter's ear.

"Nevermind him." She instructed her daughter taking the pan off of the stove top placing some dumplings on both her plate and her daughters. "The exam?"

Lienna bit her bottom lip and shrugged as she settled into her chair. "I think it went good." She nudged a dumpling with her chopsticks poking at the food.

"But?" Her mother asked lifting her daughters chin up so she looked at her squarely. She eyed her sternly.

"I couldn't remember the right equations." Lienna admitted shamefully pouting her lips before rushing to assure her mother that she had indeed scored high enough for a passing grade. "But I-I think I got all the correct answers! I just did it my own way..."

Her mother smiled accepting the answer. "That's my girl." Her mother stole a dumpling off her daughters plate.

"Mama!" Lienna gasped hugging her plate protectively earning a laugh from her mother.

"Eat, you have 15 minutes before you have to head back if you're going to be on time." Her mother nodded to the broken clock on the wall. The glass on the item had been cracked for as long as Lienna could remember, but the hands still ticked just fine. Lienna eyed the time sighing when she realized her mother was indeed right. Her mother smiled as she sipped her steaming cup of tea watching her daughter eat her full of the food she had prepared.

"What?" Lienna asked pausing in her scrumptious meal, her mouth still full of dumpling, sensing her mother's watchful stare.

"It's nothing." Her mother gripped her cup a bit tighter brushing a lock of dark brown hair out of her daughters face behind her ear that threatened to be consumed along with her food. "I just can't believe you're already almost sixteen."

Lienna smiled swallowing the bite of dumpling she had just taken. "Just one more day."

"Hai." Her mother nodded her head.

"English, Mama!" Lienna pointed her chopsticks at her catching her slip up, covering her mouth with her free hand as she spoke. The older woman covered her face with a little 'oh' gesture realizing her mistake.

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Lienna went back to school when she had finished eating. She payed attention to her lessons and took notes throughout the day. Nothing out of the ordinary. She thought this was going to be a typical Monday night. Her mother would be making Mochi like always, then head out to work to cover the night shift of her third job. It was a routine that they never strayed from. That is, until tonight.

Lienna's knapsack went crashing to the ground as the teen dropped the heavy item. She sprinted towards her apartment. The orange light from the flames that billowed out of the windows filling her eyes. Seeing a familiar face she rushed over wanting answers to the impossibility that was occurring.

"Mr. Xiao! Fāshēngle shénme? Wǒ mǔqīn zài nǎlǐ!?" Lienna slid down beside the drunken old man sat on the curb a good distance away from the apartment building. A bottle of sake clutched in his hand. Where was her mother? What had happened to cause such a fire? He had to know, didn't he? He was the landlord, their neighbor, the not so honorable drunken soldier guy that lived below them. Lienna had never really bothered to get to know him more than that, but he was responsible for them wasn't he? He had some kind of duty to know their whereabouts while they were in his place of residence. He had to know where her mother was. He almost always complained whenever either of them came home for making such a racket.

In reply the man nodded to the building a forlorn expression crossing his features. He attempted to grab her shoulder get her to sit fully beside him, but Lienna was already rushing towards the building fully prepared on entering the blaze to save her mother if she was still alive to be saved. The fire department was on its way, Lienna could hear the sirens wailing in the distance signifying that they were close, but they had yet to arrive and Lienna's mother didn't have the luxury of waiting or so Lienna thought. She understood why Mr. Xiao didn't go up for her. He was old and drunk. Obviously, that wasn't a combination that encouraged life saving behavior.

She was well aware that what she was doing was beyond stupid, and she would no doubt be scolded something awful when this was all over, but she couldn't just stand outside and watch like he was. She loved her mother dearly. She was more than just her mother, she was her best friend, She was all Lienna had in this world.

"Mama!" Lienna yelled coughing from the smoke. It hurt to breathe more inside than outside now. Sweat trickled and clung to her skin due to the flames searing heat. She pushed through her apartment door feeling light headed. She leaned heavily against the door and it snapped straight off from the frame sending Lienna crashing to the ground with a thud. She heard the fire make a cracking sort of popping noise and hissed as her arm hit a scaulding hot hinge. That was definitely gonna burn.

"Mama!? Nǐ zài nǎ? Qǐng huídá wǒ!" Lienna pleaded, begging for her mother to answer her and tell her if she was alright, but she got no reply. She looked around trying to see through the flames that were rapidly engulfing the room. From her new low vantage point she could see her mother lying down in front of the desk, the drawer that had once been in the desk now upon the floor. Her mother must have knocked it out when she fell. Lienna crawled over to her careful to mind the flames that were flickering up through the boards now.

She turned her mother over so she could see her face. Tears sprung to her eyes and a sob left her throat that quickly turned into a cough. Her mother's dark eyes stared soulessly back at her, blood still sleeping out of the wound. Her mother's body felt cool despite the hot atmosphere in the room. Clutched in her lifelessly hands were two envelopes. One appeared yellowed from age, while the other envelope seemed to be a crisp white color signifying that it was new.

"Qǐng bùyào qù. Wǒ xūyào - " Lienna begged her mother not to go. She needed...Lienna cut herself off. She didn't want to worry her even in death. Her mother had worried so much when she was alive. Being a single mother wasn't illegal, technically, but it was frowned upon as much as having more than one child. If anything it was seen as worse than that. Lienna hadn't even been able to get a birth certificate until she was 9 years old.

"qǐng huílái. Wǒ ài nǐ, māmā." Lienna whispered. Please come back, she had begged her telling her mother that she loved her, but there was no change. Her mother's chest didn't move up and down, she had no pulse or breath.

A board crashed down from the flames smashing through the second floor to the first. She needed to leave, or she was going to die here. She gingerly took the two envelopes from her mother's grip and sat up. Clutching her head as the room spun, spots dancing in her vision she hit the ground again.

She felt two sets of arms grab her from behind as she was hefted into a standing position. Two strong firefighters carrying her out of the house and over to the truck. She looked around watching their hoses spraying at the flames. The men grunted with the effort of getting her to the truck, Lienna offering them as much help being carried as a sack of potatoes would. She didn't blame their struggle though, she wasn't exactly as light as most girls her age.

Beside her, Mr. Xiao sat covered by a comfort blanket. Lienna barely registered feeling one being placed around her as well. She tried wrapping up in it, but the blanket was small and she could just barely wrap it around her shoulders. If she tugged it anymore it would rip for sure.

Monday's really were the worst. Lienna saw that now, her eyes opened by this hellish event. Her mother dead, her clothing and everything she owned that wasn't in her knapsack was now nothing but ash or badly burned away. She wasn't even sure if the building would survive, or what would happen now. She wasn't old enough to live on her own. She looked down at the envelopes in her hands, if her mother had been trying to save them from the flames they must hold some importance.

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Alright! That was chapter one! Tell me your thoughts in the comments! Should I continue? Should I forgo this idea altogether!? You tell me!


	2. Chapter 2

Lienna sat down wincing, as her cot sank and creaked underneath her weight. She peered out the room door as gently as she could and sighed in relief, as she saw Mr. Xiao still fast asleep on his couch, clutching an empty bottle of sake like a teddy bear.

The past few hours had been a whirlwind, but finding out that the elderly soldier had once been a foster father years ago, and wanted to take her in, was probably the most surreal news she had gotten, besides the fact that her mother was dead now. She couldn't believe that the man had been deemed eligible to take her; however, Lienna wasn't about to complain. She could've gotten sent anywhere with anyone. At least the old man was somewhat of a familiar face. He was an alcoholic but he wasn't abusive as far as she could tell.

The first floor had cleared inspection by safety officials, but the second was deemed unsafe for living. Which is why Lienna now found herself in the man's stiff bed while he slumbered on his lumpy couch. Mr. Xiao had assured her that once he got his money from his retirement account he'd help her fix the space up and she could live there by herself rent free. She was surprised by his generous offer before she realized that he must be feeling immense guilt because of what had happened. Afterall, it was his building and as far as Lienna knew he hadn't gone up to try to save her mother.

Lienna looked down at the two letters in her lap fingering them softly. She heard the clock chime on the wall and counted as it rung, twelve rings, midnight. Her lips quirked upwards just the slightest bit, it was her birthday. That meant she was sixteen now. As exciting of a realization as that was she didn't feel very thrilled with everything that had just occurred a few hours ago. Still she knew her mother would want her to celebrate somehow. Celebrating a sixteenth birthday was more of a western custom, but ever since her grandparents passing her mother had been tending to indulge and celebrate those special days just a bit more making it a point to cherish her daughter while they were both living.

With no gifts that she knew of to open from her mother these envelopes were the next best thing. Lienna opened the newer of the envelopes her nails working their way in between the sticky paper triangle that kept it closed. The flap popping upward as she succeeded in opening it. This was the last thing her mother had touched. Technically, the last thing she had given her. Which made whatever was inside of it that much more precious.

She pulled out the folded slip of paper and opened it smoothing out the crisp creases. She didn't even have to read the words written on the page for her eyes to well with fresh tears. This was her mother's handwriting. She had written this there was no mistake. The brunette pressed the paper against her chest causing it to crinkle. Lienna would be mad at herself for doing that later, but in this moment all she could do was cry. Her mother was gone and she was never coming back. Nothing could change that. Nothing would ever change that. She was all alone now. No father, no mother, no extended family to speak of. Her grandparents having passed away a few years back. It was just her...

Lienna reached for her iPod, the item luckily having been tucked away in her backpack when she ran into the house. She scrolled through her music her thumb hovering over a sad song that matched her current mood, but she couldn't bring herself to hit play. Deep down she knew this was the type of sad that even music couldn't cure. A tear drop fell onto the pink devices screen and she threw the item down onto the bed away from her as the letter fell into her lap.

Wiping furiously at her eyes with both her hands she tried to make the never ending cascade of tears stop, but her efforts were fruitless as the tears continued to fall leaking from her eyes. Grabbing a nearby tissue to blow her nose as softly as she could, wincing at the elephant like noise that resounded throughout the apartment, Lienna tried to remember the last time she had ever cried like this. Had she ever been this upset? Had she ever cried so hard that her head hurt, her nose stuffed up and it was hard to breathe? She wiped her nose and crumpled the tissue in her hand balling it into her fist. Her mother wouldn't want her to cry, she always hated when Lienna got upset, especially if it was because of her, but she couldn't help it. All these feelings were welling up inside of her and they needed to be released before they just overwhelmed her.

Lienna laid down on the bed. The creaking springs cutting through the symphony of her sniffles. Mr. Xiao drunkenly rolled off his couch hitting the floor with a thud. His bottle miraculously remaining intact on impact. If it had been a normal night, and she was here under different circumstances, Lienna would have tried to help get the man back onto the couch to repay him for his help, but she wasn't in the mood to get up right now. All her energy was being focused into properly mourning her mother. She cried and cried and cried until she ran out of tears to shed. Memory upon Memory of her mother swirling to the forefront her mind. Her head throbbed and her throat felt as dry as sandpaper.

She took a steadying breath, breathing deeply. She didn't feel better, not one bit, but at least now she was positive her tears wouldn't smudge the ink that held her mother's last message. She wanted to read it now while the wound of her loss was still fresh. If she waited a couple days, months, weeks, or even just until morning she'd just have to deal with the pain of losing her all over again. Lienna wasn't stupid she knew that pain wasn't going away anytime soon, but it was better to rip off the bandaid quick as can be than to inch it slowly off.

Lienna resisted the urge to groan as she looked at the letter more closely now. Her mother had written this in English her eyes focusing intently on the foreign letters. The stupid in house rule had continued on even in her death and yet, Lienna would have expected nothing less from her mom. Actually she found it somewhat comforting. She only hoped she would be able to understand everything that was written, but there was only one way to find out. With that thought in mind Lienna picked up the now crinkled paper, and began to read.

Lienna stopped reading her eyebrows furrowing. Had she read that right? No, she couldn't possibly have. She typed the letter into google translate. Reading it in her native tongue. There was no mistake. No translation error.

Her father was alive.

And that was ch 2! Next chapter we finally get into the Doctor strange movie! Woohoo!


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